The Israeli Arab Hadash Party has falsely denied Palestinian Media Watch's report that the party posted on its official Arabic Facebook page an interview of released terrorist Samer Al-Issawi in which he called to kidnap Israelis.

PMW reported (in Hebrew) on Thursday that Hadash posted a short segment of an interview with the released terrorist on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV in which he said:

"We want the release of the prisoners. The prisoners' release will be brought about by kidnapping and [prisoner] exchanges. Nothing will happen without that."

Neither the video nor the praise for the terrorist was posted on the Hadash Party's Hebrew Facebook page.

The Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported on Friday [Dec. 27, 2013] that when it asked Hadash for a response, Hadash denied the video was ever posted on the party's Facebook page. PMW has verified that the video is still running there today, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013.

The following is a screenshot taken today showing the video running on Hadash's Facebook page:

The following is the excerpt of the interview with the released terrorist as posted on Hadash's Facebook page:

Released terrorist Samer Issawi: "We swear to them [security prisoners]: We won't rest until they are released. We say to all the leaders of the Palestinian revolution: We take pride in the prisoners who have been in prison for 30 years, 35 years, 25 years, but this [the long imprisonment] is a mark of shame on every leader of the revolution. Just as you sent these young men to defend our people and our lands, today you must free these prisoners. We say in all sincerity: We don't want to wait until the [prison] terms end. We want the release of the prisoners. The prisoners' release will be brought about by kidnapping and [prisoner] exchanges. Nothing will happen without that."

[Hadash's official Arabic Facebook page, accessed Dec. 29, 2013

and Al-Aqsa TV, posted Dec. 23, 2013]

Note: Samer Al-Issawi belonged to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine DFLP. Was serving a sentence of 26 years in prison for attempted murder by manufacturing and distributing explosives and shooting at civilian vehicles in 2002, but was released in October 2011 as part of the Shalit prisoner exchange deal brokered between the Israeli government and Hamas. In that deal, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage by Hamas for more than 5 years. Al-Issawi was re-arrested in 2012 for violating the conditions of his release. In protest he began a hunger strike. He was released again in December 2013.